SuperRawLife's blog

My Raw 21 Day Cleanse Transformation

 

Have you ever been so lost that you just need to get away?  I know it’s not healthy to feel that way but what is to follow will explain how I got lost in order to find myself.  What started out as a break to get away and just have time to clear my thoughts turned into a major life changing transformation for me.  I started the 21 day cleanse with the attitude I could try it out and commit myself for the 21 days.  What else did I have to lose, right?  I was gaining three weeks in Idaho with my mom and boys and in the process I would get to relax with body work and soaking in the hot springs.

 

I told myself I would do everything her cleanse outlined for the 21 days.  It was not a lifetime commitment or change, just trying something new out.  Within the first several days I started to get really sick.  I had a cough, lost my voice, got diarrhea and my body and head ached.  I just felt down right miserable.  It was my body’s way of releasing all of the toxins that had accumulated over the years. 

 

After day ten I sat down to eat another raw salad with the infamous olive oil and herbs salad dressing.  Just the thought of tasting it again made me want to throw up.  How could I continue eating the same taste day in and day out for 21 days?  I picked at my plate and took a couple of bites.  I looked over at my mom and told her I am done, I cannot do this anymore!  Can’t we get creative and come up with some other ideas for meals?  If we could just change the texture and taste to emulate something else, I could trick my mind into liking the taste. 

 

I brought up the idea for lettuce wraps and raw guacamole.  Why not, it was just assimilating the food in a different manner.  So we tried it, they were heavenly.  Oh, I still remember our reaction to the taste as if it was yesterday.  Mmmmm, so divine it almost melted in my mouth.  I came to the realization that sticking to eating this way would be a lot more manageable with meals like this.

 

 I started to research and found the term Raw Vegan and Living Foodist.  There were thousands of recipes on-line available for free.  Just the thought of these raw food recipes started to excite me and make my mouth water.  You really can make meals all raw to emulate almost any recipe.  I even found one for Raw Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. 

 

Around day fifteen I woke up feeling refreshed and alive.  I felt so healthy and good.  My body had spent the last couple of weeks detoxing and was now able to function at a higher optimal capacity.  I was happy and laughing and full of energy.  Still to this day it is hard to explain the way I feel when eating all raw.  It was like experiencing something I had never experienced, feeling something I had never felt before.  Through research I realized the benefit of the living enzymes verses when the food is heated above 118 degrees.  Internally I felt so alive and my system appreciated it.  To me, my body was working hundreds of times less to process the food and in return it thanked me with the way I felt!

 

Over the course of 21 days I lost 23.5 pounds.  I decided to proceed with the raw lifestyle and steps I learned during the 21 day cleanse. In return I lost 72 pounds in 75 days and found myself again.  Not that I was ever completely lost but for years I had built a protection wall and way of comfort through food.  What once protected was now binding and inhibiting me.  I was able to completely let go and in the process find myself and set myself back on track to a happy healthy lifestyle!

 

Michele Marie Jeppson

Before and After Pictures from doing

21 day Strength from Within Cleanse

www.strentghfromwithin.biz

 

Day 1 --- July 4, 2009---249 Pounds

Day 21---July 26, 2009---225.5 Pounds

  

Day 48--- August 22, 2009 Continued Transformation by sticking to 100% Natural and Raw

DAY 1

 

DAY 21

 DAY 48 

Day 1

Day 21

Day 48

 

A nice sunshiney day!

Today was fun, I went out jogging with Octavian today.  Let me rephrase.....I jogged after Octavian on his scooter.  He is so excited to start kindergarten in August so we went the route to his new school.  Stopped and played tag on the play ground for a while and then headed on our way around the neighborhood in search of the large pine cones.  I had the brilliant idea to try and harvest the pine nuts from them.  Well, that did not work quite as anticipated.  I think you probably need to pick them fresh or something because ours were dried out and gross.  :]   I probably did about 3 miles on the jog as well. 

The start of our urban garden!

"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught." (Baba Dioum, 1968)  I saw this saying the other day and it really stuck with me.  Last week we started the preparation for our so called Urban Garden.  I love to garden and see the process from beginning to end.  There is something so gratifying as well as decadent about planting and harvesting your own food.  To me it really instills a level of love and respect for all aspects.

The boys were so excited to help clear way for our garden.  We actually took out a couple of trees to clear space and sun room and they really enjoyed helping to cut them down and move the branches around.  I have been researching and look forward to incorporating the wood into the garden as trellises, an arbor and possibly some chairs.  What is left will be our summer camping supply of wood. 

My five year old Octavian really enjoyed helping us out.  We ended up tilling a section and to keep him occupied and away from the tiller came up with a way for him to earn money.  We offered him 1 penny for every rock he gathered from the rock in the garden spot.  I put a tote by him and told him to place them in there and that we would count them when we get done.  He was intent on his job and picked at the rocks diligently while we worked on the other side of the garden.  By now it was getting dark and I beckoned him over to me mentioning that we could start counting his rocks.  He kept bringing them over as we counted the rocks.  Any guess on how many he gathered?  764 rocks.....$7.64 was his "paycheck".  He is planning on saving it for a car.  :]  What a cutie.  Below are a couple of fun pictures of Occi helping us with what we have thus far. 

 

We transplanted 52 raspberry starts from my grandma's.  We also planted red, white, sweet onions, garlic and misc. flower seeds. 

We bought a Suncrest Semi-Dwarf Peach Tree that we plan on planting tomorrow.  I have a homework assignment and plan to photograph our "Tree of Life"!   :]  Time to finally give back to the earth and plant a tree with Octavian's frozen placenta under it!  I will write more all about that after we plant the "Tree of Life".  Let's just say my boyfriend is happy that we are getting the frozen placenta out of the fridge.  :]  (Read back in a day or two to find out the whole story.) 

1 month and 6 days till the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon

So, now that May is upon us I realize how quickly time is passing.  Next month is the Marathon that I am going to run.  Wow, where does time go.  Yesterday I ran a couple miles and then lifted for an hour.  I do not normally lift weights and I actually thoroughly enjoyed it.  Today I did the 9:15 am cycling class followed up by 10:30 am Yoga, 2 miles jogging on a treadmill, 100 sit-ups and then lifted for an hour working on my triceps and chest.   To be honest, I enjoyed the workout it was definitely the highlight of my day thus far.  The last fews day I have been in a so called funk.  Just really not feeling that great.  I attribute this to eating non-raw.  I am going to start another 21 day cleanse on Wednesday, anyone up for joining me?

Feeling good and enjoying the snow....while it lasts :]

Well, time flies and life can get busy that is for sure.  We are having a couple days of late snow storms here in utah.  Tonight I enjoyed two classes at the gym.  The first was a cycling class which rocked and I pushed hard, felt nice to get all sweaty.  :]  I then proceeded to the Yoga class.  What a great way to relax and just be after a hard ride.  I recently got a membership at Gold's Gym and I am really enjoying the classes they offer.  Yesterday I ran 2.25 mile on the treadmill and I also did two other cycling classes and one other yoga class this week.  I am going to shoot for doing the 5:30 am cycling class on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.  I love cycling and really look forward to doing the MS 150 bicycle ride in Cache Valley again, this will be my 4th year riding for the Bad Ass Coffee Team.  Oh, all you out there taking the time to read this, thank you.  Life is interesting and beautiful, hm mm.....I hope you all are enjoying each moment to the fullest.  It gets so easy to get caught up in the day to day motions and not take time to truly appreciate and be in the moment.  Just quiet the noise and be for a moment.  What made you smile today?  :]

So I am a little off on my marathon training: both on the running and the posting.  I have gotten runs in, 3 miles here 4 miles there and am now ready to jump into it full force and pick up where I left off.  It seems easy to get distracted from what we have planned, but you know what that is ok.  You can beat yourself up for what you did not do or look at all that you have done.  I finished up finals, had a nice break which I spent moving and am now back in school full time.  I love eating raw and I love the way it makes me feel.  Yet I find myself going back to "normal food" occasionally.  Each time I do I notice the huge difference in the way I feel internally and externally.   I function better on raw, that is really what it comes down too!  :]  So for now, I am going to enjoy each day for what it has to offer and make the time to run.  2 months till the marathon and at this point my farthest run is 11 miles....wow 11 miles still hard to believe!  :]

Catch up post---89 days till race day! Total miles ran(or jogged) :] 73

Here are a list of the miles I have run but yet to log

Monday March 1st:  3 miles

Tuesday March 2nd:  3 miles

Thursday March 4th:  10 Miles-----what an insanely awesome feeling.  This was my first double digit run and I loved it.  What an accomplishment.  Yes, I was tired yet I still had the urge to keep on going.  I stretched for about 20 minutes and then was able to go an relax in the hot springs for a couple hours.  This makes a huge difference and I want to use it as my reward for my body after doing the long run each week. 

Training Day 26 of 126---100 days till race day! Total miles ran(or jogged) :] = 57

Wow, ok it has been a bit since I updated my training schedule.  Even though I was not recording online I was still training.  Today is my day for Rest.  Yesterday was insane and awesome.  I did my long run and it was 9 miles.  Yes, you read that correctly I ran 9 miles straight.  I completed it in 1 hour and 33 minutes and took three drinks at the drinking fountain....(No bathroom Breaks this time :])  It was so pleasurable....an accomplishment and definitely milestone in my training.  To have gone from not running at all on February first to being at 9 miles already.  I was so sweaty yet full of energy.  At around 6.8 miles I hit the runner high you hear about.  When I hit lap 99 (Mile 9)  I felt like I could keep on going and going.  But decided to stop.  As usual I took my final lap at a sprint as fast as I could.  Visualizing it being the end of a race and running across the finish line.  I then walked a couple laps to cool down and then headed to stretch. 

Stretching for me is the key and is so important to prevent injury and let my muscles relax.  I went to the Chiropractor the day before my run to get adjusted and got an 1/8 inch lift for my right shoe.  One of my legs is longer than the other and the lift should help.  It is only about half what I need but Dr. Klein recommended just increasing it a bit since my body is used to the difference and then after the marathon adjusting again.  He also taught me an awesome stretch for the thigh and shins and calves that feels great and does not stretch your back in the process. 

So the other runs I did that I did not record are as follows:

3 miles

6 miles

7 miles

3 miles

6 miles

9 miles

As you will notice I modified the training schedule a bit and doubled up my 3 mile runs on some days so that I could have time to get my long run in when I was not in school all day.  Also, I have been eating 100% raw Vegan since day one of the training and feel so alive and full of energy!!!  Got to love it raw!  Well, I am going to say good bye for now.  xo Michele Marie Jeppson

Training Day 10 of 126---116 days till race day! Total miles ran(or jogged) :] = 23

Wow, 5 miles in 47 minutes!!!  What more is there for me to say!  :]  It felt great and I feel great.  To be honest it has not always felt great.  Last time I ran my bra irritated my skin and made it bleed....ouch and that was only from 3 miles.  So I made sure for this 5 mile run to wear a different bra and cinch up the straps so it was not touching where it already hurt.  I definitely need to google and find some ideas for the big day because I do not want to run 26.2 miles with that type of pain :]  Well for now good bye!  :]

Training Day 8 of 126---118 days till race day! Total miles ran(or jogged) :] = 18

I really looked forward to my jog today.  I went to the gym around 4:45 pm.  I started jogging and just felt like I was dragging my feet.  I kept feeling like I was going slow and taking forever.....it was in that moment that I looked at the clock and realized that I was not going slower than normal.  Time wise I was jogging about the same pace as the time before.  I am getting stronger and that is why running 3 miles in 32 minutes seemed like I was going slow and lagging.  I guess that means it time to pick the pace up a bit.  I doubled the speed of my last lap and felt awesome!!!

Training Day 7 of 126---119 days till race day! Total miles ran(or jogged) :] = 15

02/08/2010:  You know what I realized.....I still hate to run but really do I?  I have thoroughly enjoyed each time I have made the effort and completed my training as scheduled.  I look forward to the run...not necessarily for the run but for the accomplishment of doing and completing something I always thought I hated.  Hmmmm.....I actually enjoy running.  Does that mean I like to run?  If you could hear me now I am laughing at myself.  How easy 3 miles seems; in the past it seemed overwhelming.  I know my body can do it and I just start right out jogging and know I can do it without needing to stop.  What a feeling, wow...I can do this!!!  In the last week I ran 15 miles!  How awesome is that???  :]  I made some delicious raw Onion Bread and Zuchinni Bread recipes.....I love eating 100% raw.  It really makes a difference on the way I feel and my energy.